Wells Fargo Layoffs, Nearly 2,000 Cut

We've all been hoping for the economy to turn around, and there are some early signs that we're turning the corner; but as many suspected, it seems that the recovery is going to be a bit of a rough road. A major pothole was uncovered last week, when Wells Fargo delivered termination notices to 1,900 employees.

Wells Fargo customers probably won't notice the loss, as most of the laid-off workers were in "back office support positions," corporate spokesman Joe Stroop told the Killeen Daily Herald. The vast majority of the employees laid off nationwide were hired as temporary employees last year, when adjustment to underwater mortgage and original mortgage drafting rates were higher than they are expected to be this year.

Employees in Wells Fargo's mortgage divisions took the biggest hits. For example, 200 employees were cut from the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage division in Des Moines. The financial behemoth also cut 259 jobs when it closed its mortgage application center in Wilmington, N.C. Wells Fargo also laid off 68 workers in its collections call center in Vancouver. Still more cuts are expected, since the mortgage industry in general is cutting back.